RM,I don't want you to get me wrong. I applaud your efforts in this arena. It takes guts and no little stamina to stand up to the mainstream science community/paradigms. But my own model of rapid drift slowed now to a near stop is not a mainstream concept by any means. Subduction is an essential of mainstream plate tectonics because they must offer a vehicle to maintain a process for hundreds of millions of years, which is not the case in the catastrophic scenario. The plate movement vectors in your referenced diagram aptly describe a process which has virtually halted by the sheer simple force of frictional resistance. The movement I describe is no longer happening*, nor can it under the present conditions. This is where both your electrical discharge machine and my rapid mechanical drift model depart from the uniformitarian presuppositions of mainstream geology. The model to which you object is the SM version of plate tectonics, with which I find as many objections! (*with the acknowledgement of the measured fingernail growth pace oft quoted in the literature)But I will leave off this discussion for now and let your thread proceed without further debate from me.

Truth extends beyond the border of self-limiting science. Free discourse among opposing viewpoints draws the open-minded away from the darkness of inevitable bias and nearer to the light of universal reality.

webolife wrote:RM,I don't want you to get me wrong. I applaud your efforts in this arena. It takes guts and no little stamina to stand up to the mainstream science community/paradigms. But my own model of rapid drift slowed now to a near stop is not a mainstream concept by any means. Subduction is an essential of mainstream plate tectonics because they must offer a vehicle to maintain a process for hundreds of millions of years, which is not the case in the catastrophic scenario. The plate movement vectors in your referenced diagram aptly describe a process which has virtually halted by the sheer simple force of frictional resistance. The movement I describe is no longer happening*, nor can it under the present conditions. This is where both your electrical discharge machine and my rapid mechanical drift model depart from the uniformitarian presuppositions of mainstream geology. The model to which you object is the SM version of plate tectonics, with which I find as many objections! (*with the acknowledgement of the measured fingernail growth pace oft quoted in the literature)But I will leave off this discussion for now and let your thread proceed without further debate from me.

webolife it was not my intention to stifle any debate, we can leave that to mainstream science.

It was my intention to offer an electrical alternative to the consensus view in the Earth sciences, by definition this meant the current Plate Tectonic paradigm; I included Expanding Earth hypotheses as proponents of this group of ideas cite the same evidence, minus subduction, in support of their views.

In my opinion, proponents of the Electric Universe should be weary of adopting ideas from consensus science without question. The Plate Tectonic paradigm is a perfect example, despite claims of success at ‘explaining’ geological features on Earth it has failed abysmally elsewhere in the solar system even at Earth’s ‘twin’- Venus. Plate Tectonics arose to dominance before we had global maps of any of the inner planets and satellites of the outer planets- would this have been so if we had prior knowledge of the surfaces of these bodies? Geologists view the solar system through earth-coloured spectacles, are volcanoes on Earth, Venus, Mars, Io and Titan the same phenomena?

The consensus view that an internal heat source drives tectonic activity here on Earth has led to the reliance on tidal heating or hidden oceans on worlds considered too small to have an active internal heat source. How simpler is it to view that all geologic activity, regardless of how it manifests on the surface of a planet or satellite, is driven by an external electrical source?

An electric discharge driving geologic activity on terrestrial planets and satellites produces a wide variety of features both similar to and different from, features we find on Earth depending upon the make-up of the body and its environment.

Perhaps the radical departure from conventional geological thought is one reason my views are not viewed in a favourable light, or maybe they are just plain wrong; with this in mind and not wanting to take the path taken by mainstream peer reviewed science, all comments are welcomed!

In this thread I have suggested that Earth’s geological activity is a product of an electrical discharge between Earth and its environment.

This discharge exists because Earth is not electrically ‘at rest’ with its environment, this situation has arisen due to Earth’s potential and/or the Earth’s environment potential changing ‘recently’.This change was initially catastrophic.Prior to this ‘recent’ change Earth was very different geologically.Today, the discharge powers all manner of tectonic and atmospheric phenomena.

An announcement from the European Space Agency (ESA) suggested that a ‘jet-stream’ exists at the Earth’s core but is this really so?

Recently, the ESA Swarm mission discovered ‘supersonic plasma jets’. The jets were sandwiched between Birkeland Currents, these ‘…currents carry up to 1 TW of electric power to the upper atmosphere – about 30 times the energy consumed in New York during a heatwave.’

‘While much is known about these current systems, recent observations by Swarm have revealed that they are associated with large electrical fields…These fields, which are strongest in the winter, occur where upwards and downwards Birkeland currents connect through the ionosphere.’

‘Bill Archer from the University of Calgary explained, “Using data from the Swarm satellites’ electric field instruments, we discovered that these strong electric fields drive supersonic plasma jets.’

‘“The jets, which we call ‘Birkeland current boundary flows’, mark distinctly the boundary between current sheets moving in opposite direction and lead to extreme conditions in the upper atmosphere.’

‘“They can drive the ionosphere to temperatures approaching 10,000°C and change its chemical composition. They also cause the ionosphere to flow upwards to higher altitudes where additional energisation can lead to loss of atmospheric material to space.”’

The location of the ‘supersonic plasma jets’ is not too dissimilar to that of the ‘jet-stream’ supposedly at the Earth’s core, how likely is it that the two observations are actually related. In my opinion, very likely, the two phenomena are probably part of the same discharge and the ‘jet-stream’ at the core in my opinion is more likely to be a near-surface effect.

Another finding from the Swarm mission is that the magnetosphere is asymmetrical, Birkeland Currents in the northern and southern hemispheres differ. ‘In fact, the two geomagnetic poles are not geometrically opposite to one another, and the magnetic field intensity is also not the same in the north as in the south.’

We appear to have one magnetosphere but two individual Birkeland Currents! I have previously suggested that currents flow to Earth from a region where free electrons are available in greater numbers and not being usurped by the Sun, this is why all magnetotails extend in the anti-sunward direction. I see it being highly likely that the two Birkeland Currents behave differently over the course of an Earth orbit because they are sourcing electrons from slightly different regions plus we would expect any dynamical changes induced from coronal mass ejections, for example, to evolve differentially in each hemisphere.

It was also found that the electric field associated with the ‘supersonic plasma jets’ was strongest in winter (northern hemisphere) when Earth is closest to the Sun; perhaps at this time Earth’s magnetotail is forced to extend farther in the anti-sunward direction in search of collectible electrons?

The reigning global geo-tectonic paradigm, Plate Tectonics, views Earth as consisting of two different types of ‘crust’. This approach is required to enable ‘continental drift’ the idea that less dense ‘continental crust’ is pushed and pulled in response to the movement- spreading and subduction- of the more dense ‘oceanic crust’.

The problem faced by Plate Tectonicists is that Earth is the only terrestrial planet in the solar system where Plate Tectonics is supposedly happening, Mercury, Venus, Mars and the Moon have all been mapped to a degree at which we would expect to see surface features associated with tectonic movements- if Plate Tectonics was occurring or had occurred on these worlds. But, the evidence is absent.

Geologists have a working tectonic model, but a model that is a special case, only applicable to the Earth and not applicable to other terrestrial bodies in the solar system.

The model I have proposed on this thread does not endorse the Plate (and Expansion) Tectonic paradigm- how then do we explain the dual nature of the Earth’s crust?

As above, so below

Earth’s lower atmosphere is dominated by nitrogen and oxygen, the outer atmosphere –the exosphere- is dominated by hydrogen and helium, is this a clue to the process that forms not only the Earth’s ‘continental crust’ but also the planet’s oceans?

The presence of these elements in Earth’s gaseous envelope suggests that they continue to exist in significant quantities in Earth’s interior- I have suggested that Earth may well contain a hollow- such a hollow would serve as a reservoir for hydrogen, methane, ammonia, silane etc. Results from the Kola Super-deep borehole show a counter-intuitive exponential increase of rock porosity with depth. Such porosity would enable elements from deep within the Earth to migrate to the surface. Near the surface upwelling methane is gradually oxidised CH4 + O2 = 2H2O + C, leaving behind vast deposits of oil and coal. If sufficient quantities of methane reach the oxygen rich surface then we find CH4 + 2O2 = 2H2O + CO2. Clearly upwelling methane contributes to Earth’s water budget.

The principal “…composition of volcanic gases (analyses of gases from fumaroles and of gases preserved in solidified lava and in a fresh tephra) show that the most important among them are H2O, H2,CH4 (and other hydrocarbons), O2, CO, CO2, COS, N2, NH3, Cl, H2S, SO2, SO3,S, He, Ar, Xe, boric and arsenic acid, chlorides and fluorides of metals."

It would seem that most volcanic eruptions have less to do with the popular picture of molten rock and more to do with upwelling methane reacting with plentiful amounts of oxygen in the Earth’s crust.

However, there is a difference when we look at the two chemical reactions especially when we consider one of the products of the silane reaction- silicon dioxide or silica.

“Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth’s continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2.”

Earth’s atmosphere provides a glimpse into the planet’s make-up. Methane and silane when oxidised produce water. Water vapour along with methane and ammonia in Earth’s atmosphere are vulnerable to dissociation by solar radiation. “There is a continual escape of the hydrogen atoms into interplanetary space; but the liberated oxygen atoms (and nitrogen atoms) remain in the atmosphere, and the number that must thus have been added in geological time seems to be comparable with the number now present.”

The process is closely linked with tectonic activity which I believe is, in turn, closely linked to Earth’s electrical environment.

We have seen how the Earth’s reservoir of water and hydrocarbons are formed but what of the other reservoir, silica?

The origin of the ‘continental crust’

Basalt is one of the most common rock types found on Earth and not only Earth, basalt is found on all the terrestrial planets.

Results from the MESSENGER spacecraft show that the surface composition of Mercury is most similar to that of a terrestrial magnesian basalt (with lowered FeO), composed mainly of Mg-rich orthopyroxene and plagioclase.

At Venus, Venera 9, 10, 14 and Vega 1, 2 landing sites the surface composition was found to be chemically close to tholeiitic basalts, while at the Venera 8 and 13 landing sites the surface was found to be close to alkaline basalts in composition.

Data returned from spacecraft show that Mars is composed mostly of rocks similar to terrestrial basalts called tholeiites, which make up most oceanic islands, mid-ocean ridges, and the seafloor beneath sediments. The Martian samples differ in some respects that reflect differences in the compositions of the Martian and terrestrial interiors, but in general are a lot like Earth basalts.

On Earth the largest occurrences of basalt are on the ocean floor which is almost completely made up of basalt. On the continents themselves we find outpourings of rock normally associated with the ocean floor- basalt is the rock most typical of large igneous provinces.

“Continental flood basalts are known to exist in the Deccan Traps in India, the Chilcotin Group in British Columbia, Canada, the Paraná Traps in Brazil, the Siberian Traps in Russia, the Karoo flood basalt province in South Africa, the Columbia River Plateau of Washington and Oregon.

“Ancient Precambrian basalts are usually only found in fold and thrust belts, and are often heavily metamorphosed.”

The prevalence of basalt not only on Earth but on the terrestrial planets suggests that we could consider basalt and its relatives as ‘primary’ or ‘primordial’ rocks- the foundation of the terrestrial planets themselves.

Upon the Earth’s basaltic foundation we find features not found on the other terrestrial planets, the continents. We have previously seen that a product of the silane - oxygen reaction is silica- is it possible that the continents themselves formed from the outgassing of silicon dioxide?

We could picture the early Earth as being Venus-like in its topographic appearance with very little relief. Over time outpourings of silica collected, perhaps around localised elevated regions of the basaltic ‘primary’ crust or areas undergoing outgassing. Water collected initially, in depressions in the basaltic ‘primary’ crust. A topographic dichotomy developed with the formation of a ‘secondary’ crust and would later be interpreted by geologists as two types of crust.

Modern day analogous processes would include deep sea vents, particularly ‘white smokers’ which emit minerals comprising barium, calcium and silicon. Such vents are known to develop ‘chimneys’, geomorphic and geologic structures on Earth today show a resemblance to ‘chimneys’ formed long-ago; they are variously described as ‘Limestone pillars’, ’Sand-columns’, ’Sandstone pillars’, ‘Pipes’, and perhaps we could include ‘Monadnocks’ and ‘Inselbergs’. On land we find geysers leave similar silica deposits.

In North Africa today we find a geological feature known as the ‘Richat Structure’. “The Richat Structure is a deeply eroded, slightly elliptical dome with a diameter of 40 kilometres (25 mi). The sedimentary rock exposed in this dome ranges in age from Late Proterozoic within the centre of the dome to Ordovician sandstone around its edges. The sedimentary rocks comprising this structure dip outward at 10°–20°. Differential erosion of resistant layers of quartzite has created high-relief circular cuestas. Its centre consists of a siliceous breccia covering an area that is at least 30 kilometres (19 mi) in diameter.

“Exposed within the interior of the Richat Structure are a variety of intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks. They include rhyolitic volcanic rocks, gabbros, carbonatites and kimberlites. The rhyolitic rocks consist of lava flows and hydrothermally altered tuffaceous rocks that are part of two distinct eruptive centers, which are interpreted to be the eroded remains of two maars. According to field mapping and aeromagnetic data, the gabbroic rocks form two concentric ring dikes. The inner ring dike is about 20 m in width and lies about 3 km from the center of Richat Structure. The outer ring dike is about 50 m in width and lies about 7 to 8 km from the center of this structure. Thirty-two carbonatite dikes and sills have been mapped within the Richat Structure. The dikes are generally about 300 m long and typically 1 to 4 m wide. They consist of massive carbonatites that are mostly devoid of vesicles. The carbonatite rocks have been dated as having cooled between 94 and 104 million years ago. A kimberlitic plug and several sills have been found within the northern part of the Richat Structure. The kimberlite plug has been dated to around 99 million years old. These intrusive igneous rocks are interpreted as indicating the presence of a large alkaline igneous intrusion that currently underlies the Richat Structure and created it by uplifting the overlying rock.

“Initially interpreted as an asteroid impact structure because of its high degree of circularity, the Richat Structure is now regarded by geologists as a highly symmetrical and deeply eroded geologic dome. After extensive field and laboratory studies, no credible evidence has been found for shock metamorphism or any type of deformation indicative of a hypervelocity extraterrestrial impact. While coesite, an indicator of shock metamorphism, had initially been reported as being present in rock samples collected from the Richat Structure, further analysis of rock samples concluded that barite had been misidentified as coesite. In addition, the Richat Structure lacks the annular depression that characterizes large extraterrestrial impact structures of this size. Also, it is quite different from large extraterrestrial impact structures in that the sedimentary strata comprising this structure is remarkably intact and "orderly" and lacking in overturned, steeply dipping strata or disoriented blocks. A more recent multianalytical study on the Richat megabreccias concluded that carbonates within the silica-rich megabreccias were created by low-temperature hydrothermal waters, and that the structure requires special protection and further investigation of its origin.”

Given the abundance of silica and carbonates found within the structure it is possible that the structure is large-scale ‘vent’ or ‘pipe’. I would expect that such structures exist on other continents-over a variety of scales- some may be long buried.

(I would also consider it likely that similar structures exist on the other terrestrial planets and may be associated with ‘holes’, ‘curious landforms’ and areas of emissions of volatiles, different to so-called impact structures.)

Sedimentary Basins and the Precambrian

“Sedimentary basins are regions of Earth of long-term subsidence creating accommodation space for infilling by sediments. The subsidence can result from a variety of causes that include: the thinning of underlying crust, sedimentary, volcanic, and tectonic loading, and changes in the thickness or density of adjacent lithosphere…As the sediments are buried, they are subjected to increasing pressure and begin the process of lithification.”

The above is the consensus geological view of sedimentary basins but is this correct?

“…we are assured by mainstream geologists that in the two billion years from the early Archeozoic to the present, just about every square mile of the Earth’s surface has been subjected to countless contortions, uplifts, downwarpings, depositions, erosions and various other tectonic activities of all violent kinds, over and over again… In view of all these countless destructive activities, how is it that we find hundreds, nay thousands of locations all over the Earth where nicely formed, undisturbed sedimentary beds, many of them enormous in size, both vertically and in horizontal area, ranging back two or more billion years ago…”

The enormous extent of undisturbed ‘sedimentary’ rocks presents a problem for geologists, furthermore some of these ‘ancient’ deposits are unconsolidated, “…but it seems that even the Penokee series of this region, regarded as a subdivision of the Algonkian or Precambrian, is also in the same unaltered and unconsolidated condition.” Consensus geology tells us that hundreds of millions of years have elapsed from the Precambrian to the present, yet this is still insufficient time to lithify these ancient sediments.

Does the picture presented here offer a solution? Major global sedimentary basins are often associated with deposits of hydrocarbons, it is assumed by geologists that sedimentary basins provided the conditions, over millions of years, for the formation of oil and coal. Is this assumption correct?

In light of what I have suggested above is it possible that sedimentary basins are not ‘sedimentary’ at all, rather they are ‘outgassing’ or ‘eruptive’ basins?

The coincidence of the occurrence of hydrocarbons with such basins is then explained by the observation that both ‘sediment’ i.e. silica and hydrocarbons share a similar origin.

Lowermost ‘sedimentary’ rocks in such basins we can reclassify as ‘pre-sedimentary’ rocks, lacking fossils geologists would assign them to the Precambrian. Upper layers would consist of re-worked ‘pre-sedimentary’ rocks, as sedimentary rocks that contain fossils geologists would assign these rock formations to the Phanerozoic. Whilst the rock units are real, the time units are imaginary.

Greenstone Belts

“Greenstone belts have been interpreted as having formed at ancient oceanic spreading centers and island arc terranes.

“Greenstone belts are primarily formed of volcanic rocks, dominated by basalt, with minor sedimentary rocks inter-leaving the volcanic formations. Through time, the degree of sediment contained within greenstone belts has risen, and the amount of ultramafic rock (either as layered intrusions or as volcanic komatiite) has decreased.

“Opponents to Archean plate tectonics… consider that Archaean tectonics was dominated by mantle plumes and was possibly analogous to the tectonics of Venus.”

The descriptions of greenstone belts above fit remarkably well with the proposed hypothesis presented here. Although associated with continental cratons we find a link with basalt, consensus geology attributes this to long vanished island arcs- in reality a link to the basaltic ‘primary’ crust. The observed increase in sediment and decrease in basalt type rocks “through time” is explained by what I have proposed here i.e. accumulated silica outgassing.

Greenstone belts are yet another indication of Earth’s ‘primary’ crust- found on the continents, this seems at least to have been unknowingly acknowledged by some geologists, evoking an analogy to Venus, as I earlier suggested.

The terrestrial planets all appear to be largely basaltic bodies that probably share similar bulk properties. The differences between them would be due to their idiosyncratic nature and histories, for example Earth has been able to hold on to most of its volatiles, Mercury has not (although MESSENGER did find unexpectedly high levels of volatiles at Mercury). Given that I see this process as being electrically driven, the differences between the terrestrial planets also suggests a changing electrical history for each of the terrestrial planets.

It was also found that; “Although the geomagnetic field is largely an axial dipole on the Earth's surface, the radial component of the field on the CMB (Core Mantle Boundary) is maximum not at the pole, as for an axial dipole, but instead at two flux bundles located just outside the tangent-cylinder region…”

“The vorticity is negative within 15 degrees of the pole, but becomes positive at lower latitudes, reaching a local maximum around the tangent cylinder. The vorticity reversal has the effect of confining the azimuthal circulation to the region inside the tangent cylinder, shielding the polar vortex from the rest of the core circulation.”

“Inside the tangent cylinder, convection driven dynamos show intense polar vortices associated with upwellings or downwellings in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Convective upwellings that generate anticyclonic polar-vortex motion beneath the core-mantle boundary (CMB) seem to be preferred but downwellings with cyclonic polar vortex motion beneath the CMB are seen in some numerical dynamos.”

“Our results indicate that the convection in the north polar region has a structure more like a tropical hurricane, cylindrical in shape with circulation and vorticity changing with depth through the outer core.”

All of this activity is supposedly generated by a hidden dynamo deep within the Earth, a dynamo that grows increasingly complex with each new discovery.

What if all this activity originates externally to the Earth? Then the power source for Earth’s tectonic activity arises from its environment and not a hidden dynamo.

Over 40 years ago Ralph Juergens wrote: “Let us assume, with Velikovsky, that the Earth carries significant electric charge. Let us further assume, as suggested elsewhere, that this charge is actively imposed on our planet by the demands of an electrified cosmic environment.” (1)

Today we no longer need to assume, the Earth’s electrical nature is clear to all who choose to see it. On this thread, following Velikovsky and Juergens, I have suggested that the Earth carries a significant electric charge and this charge is responsible for the planet’s magnetic field; furthermore it is an electric discharge that powers tectonic activity but it doesn’t stop at earthquakes and volcanoes, we also find all manner of atmospheric activity participating in the discharge. But where is the source of the discharge?

Earth’s Magnetotail

It is commonly assumed that the Earth and Sun are somehow electrically ‘connected’ but is this an accurate depiction?

“The continuous arrival of positively charged cosmic rays on earth suggests that our planet carries and continually renews a strong negative charge. Indeed, experiments performed some years ago by Quinn and Chang (Journal of Geophysical Research, 71, 1966, 253 and 72, 1967, 1611) indicate, in spite of the experimenters' pointed disclaimer, that the earth behaves as a secondary cathode in the solar discharge. By making a magnetized steel sphere the cathode in a laboratory discharge, Quinn and Chang produced miniature Van Allen belts, auroral discharges, and other recognizable "geophysical" effects. I would speculate, therefore, that the earth's negative charge represents that of electrons intercepted on their way to the sun by the earth's tail-like sheath, and that this charge is built up to a point where the earth re-emits electrons into the solar discharge. If so, variations in earth-sun electric currents may be held accountable for such phenomena as geomagnetic disturbances, ionospheric disturbances, high-altitude expansions and contractions of the terrestrial atmosphere, and variations in the cosmic-ray flux reaching the earth.” (2)

As a secondary cathode Earth usurps electrons powering the solar discharge; the electrons are sourced from a ‘virtual cathode’ located in a more electron rich region of the solar system. Taking the form of Birkeland currents, electrons continually arrive from the anti-sunward direction, focusing at Earth’s poles, indeed, spacecraft such as Cluster have detected intense field-aligned currents when crossing the night-time auroral zone- in its entirety, astrophysicists refer to this structure as the magnetotail. (3)

Closer to Earth, the arriving current deforms concentric double-layers (4) surrounding Earth forcing them to adopt torodial belt-like structures, pervaded by a magnetic field astrophysicists refer to the whole structure as the magnetosphere.

Both Earth and the Sun are immersed in the heliospheric plasma, now should a disturbance occur on the solar surface and radiate out into the solar system as an Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejection (ICME) then we can conceive of a ICME not only as a radiating disturbance in the heliospheric plasma but also as "waves of potential gradient". “These ripples are transitory fluctuations in plasma potential, and they propagate outward from their sources "at speeds approaching that of light." It follows that electrical disturbances on the Sun must send waves of potential gradient throughout the region pervaded by the interplanetary plasma.” (5)

If such a wave of differing potential gradient encounters Earth then no disturbance of any significance should occur until the passing differing potential gradient disturbs the ‘virtual cathode’ beyond the Earth. The disruption of the customary potential of the ‘virtual cathode’ will result in a disruption of the customary electron flow to Earth. If tectonic activity (and atmospheric activity) is the result of a discharge between Earth and its environment as proposed here, then tectonic (and atmospheric) events should be more likely to originate on the anti-sunward hemisphere i.e. during the hours of local night-time.

Things That Go Bump in the Night

From ghoulies and ghostiesAnd long-leggedy beastiesAnd things that go bump in the night,Good Lord, deliver us!

So goes the traditional Scottish poem, but it may be more than long-leggedy beasties that appear at night could it be that we can trace the origin of tectonic activity, electrical storms, hurricanes and typhoons to the night?

In the 1970’s meteorologists discovered what they called ‘supernova storms’.

“They appear from nowhere in the middle of the night -huge thunderstorms that reach their full-blown might, sometimes in less than two hours, briefly thrashing the tropical Atlantic with explosive rage before disappearing as quickly as they came.

“So rapid and violent is their life cycle that meteorologists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration call them 'supernovas' after the sudden, brilliant flaring of a star before it collapses into death.

"But where do they come from? The supernova storms were discovered only last summer, during the huge, multinational weather study known as the GARP (Global Atmospheric Research Program) Atlantic Tropical Experiment, or GATE. They were pinpointed thanks to the Synchronous Meteorological Satellite, SMS-1, whose infrared cameras enable it to photograph the developing clouds by their own heat, even during the darkest night."Are the storms causes -significant contributors to tropical weather dynamics -or mere symptoms, visible signs of some much larger and even more mysterious process? At this stage of research, all bets are open. We cannot yet explain why and how they form over the ocean, at night." (6)

Intense electrical storms appearing “from nowhere in the middle of the night” detected “by their own heat” , “visible signs of some much larger and even more mysterious process”.

Perhaps the process is not so mysterious- I have suggested that Earth is sourcing electrons from a distant ‘virtual cathode’ located in the anti-sunward direction. Electrons arriving from this region will arrive preferentially at Earth’s night-time hemisphere (as detected by the Cluster spacecraft); current entering the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and crust has its origin from the anti-sunward direction. If so developing hurricanes and typhoons may be identifiable by infrared observations of the night-time hemisphere.

It is not only electrical storms that appear mysteriously in the night, earthquakes are known to preferentially occur during the night. “Analysis of earthquake catalogues on 14 world regions has revealed a distinct diurnal periodicity of seismic events in all of them. The amplitude of the diurnal variations usually decreases with an increase in earthquake energy, although in some regions, the time series of strong earthquakes also demonstrate diurnal periodicity. Earthquakes are more frequent at night”. (7)

Not only earthquakes but volcanic activity also displays the same pattern: “we have clearly demonstrated the existence of a 24–h cyclical modulation of the seismicity of the Mt. Vesuvius with maxima during the night time”. (8)

Cycles within Cycles

Diurnal cycles are but a part of still larger cycles. “…it is seen an anti-correlation between number of sunspots and number of earthquakes, with a small increase in quakes at solar maximum.” And “These trends are applicable to volcanic activities too. Casey (2010), who studied volcanic records from the last 350 years and seismicity in the last 300 years within the continental United States, found a strong correlation between solar activity, the largest volcanic eruptions and the strongest earthquakes; the latter two have occurred during the solar activity lows with the strongest ones during the major solar minima. However, another study by Gregory (2002) who compared the historical volcanic eruptions especially Mt. Etna and Vesuvius since 1550 AD and the solar cycles found synchronous relation between them.” (9)

Earthquake activity appears to peak at solar minimum which at first sight may seem somewhat unexpected, why should this be so? During solar minimum galactic cosmic rays (positive charges) accumulate in the heliospheric plasma. (10) However, as we have already seen Earth is continually accepting negative charge from its environment- during solar minimum cosmic rays reaching Earth not only deliver more positive charge, slightly altering Earth’s potential (and internal polarisation) but the potential of the ‘virtual cathode’ region too. The resultant adjustment to the relative potential differences disrupts the discharge and Earth’s internal polarisation- leading to more earthquake activity.

(It is known that the global electron content of the ionosphere falls to a minimum during solar minimum (11)).

Tectonic activity and Earth’s Length of Day

“That the Earth's rate of rotation is slowing perceptibly with the passage of time appears to be an established fact. This secular retardation is generally laid to tidal drag by both the Sun and the Moon. But Munk and MacDonald pointed out years ago that such a mechanism presents problems; in particular, it offers no satisfactory explanation for the dissipation of rotational energy. And more recently Rochester has pointed out that "the 'modern' rate of secular deceleration due to tidal friction is probably close to twice the value used by Munk and MacDonald . . . [and] in turn nearly doubles the problem of accounting for the accompanying energy dissipation . . ." Thus the phenomenon is imperfectly accounted for by tidal friction.

“Could it be that the Earth's electric charge increases with time?

“This is precisely what one would expect if, as suggested, the Sun derives its energy from the outside by way of an electric discharge. We may suppose that the current sustaining such a discharge could flow only so long as the Sun could be induced to accept ever more charge and an ever-increasing electric potential. But as long as the potential of the Sun increased, that of the interplanetary plasma would also increase, and so would those of the individual planets that are immersed in and grounded to the plasma.

“In keeping with matters already discussed, a secular increase in the Earth's electric charge must to some extent secularly increase its polar moment of inertia and gradually slow its rotation”. (12)

By collecting more negative charge Earth’s rotation is slowing and length of day (LOD) increasing but this process is far from smooth. Earthquakes can interrupt the secular deceleration and actually shorten the LOD. (13, 14) As we have seen earthquake activity preferentially occurs during solar maximum when the customary accumulation of negative charge is disrupted. In this light, tectonic events causing transient changes to Earth’s rotation period are due to electrical effects and not due to the displacement of the crust.

Tectonic activity and Earth’s Gravity

Somewhat more contentious are studies of variations in the measurement of G at Earth’s surface which seem to indicate possible cycles. (15)

It is assumed on this thread that gravity is an electrical phenomenon- as Earth is accumulating charge over time after an initial or previous electron deficient state, G should increase too implying an initial or previous reduced gravity state- this would be problematical for proponents of Earth Expansion Tectonic hypotheses.

This is obviously an area for further study but as I mentioned earlier in this thread there is an abundance of evidence for vertical tectonics- due to an increase in G perhaps?

The Tectonic Circuit

The tectonic circuit extends far beyond Earth and the simple Plate Tectonic cartoons we find in textbooks fail to grasp its complexity. Earth’s tectonic activity is powered externally something consensus geologists have yet to realise- the question is, will they ever?

References:

1. Juergens. Ralph. E. 1977. On the Convection of Electric Charge by the Rotating Earth. Kronos Vol. 2 No 3.

EU, Electric Universe:<<Electrical forces formed the Earth and its features.>>_F: Stars and planets form from galactic electric currents, which continue to power stars after formation. Venus, Mars and Earth were formerly moons of Saturn when the Saturn system was outside the solar system. When the system entered the solar system Saturn as a small star had a flareup._C:_S:_O: Mountain ranges were formed from electric discharges from the Sun or a large planet that heated a large discharge channel, which expanded, uplifting mountains._GL:

Do you suggest any improvements in those statements? And can you fill in statements for C, S & GL? It's okay if the statements are tentative, since they can be updated at any time. Thanks much for any help.

Earlier in this thread, following Juergens, I suggested that tectonic and atmospheric activity are powered by an electrical circuit connecting the anti-solar hemisphere to a distant ‘virtual cathode’ forming what astrophysicists refer to as the magnetotail.

Now, with data returned by the Venus Express spacecraft, we learn that the night time Cytherean atmosphere is very different to the daytime atmosphere. (1)

I had earlier suggested that we can think of Venus’ atmosphere as a ‘compressed’ magnetosphere and that we should look for analogues in Earth’s magnetosphere to describe the activity found in the Cytherean atmosphere.

Venus Express has confirmed this premise.

“The study shows that the atmosphere on Venus' night side behaves very differently to that on the side of the planet facing the Sun (the 'dayside'), exhibiting unexpected and previously-unseen cloud types, morphologies, and dynamics - some of which appear to be connected to features on the planet's surface”. (1)

“Night side upper clouds form different shapes and morphologies than those found elsewhere–large, wavy, patchy, irregular, and filament-like patterns, many of which are unseen in dayside images–and are dominated by unmoving phenomena known as stationary waves”. (1)

"These waves are concentrated over steep, mountainous areas of Venus; this suggests that the planet's topography is affecting what happens way up above in the clouds." (1)

Venus displays very little topological relief but its atmosphere is incredibly dense. The concentration of “waves” is probably due to an input/output of electrical energy from previously discovered ‘stringy-things’ or Birkeland Currents focussed on the anti-solar hemisphere. (2)

The glow associated with ‘The Shiny Mountains of Venus’ (3) is probably the Cytherean equivalent of earthly earthquake lights, sprites, elves etc. in a more compressed form, part of the Cytherean tectonic circuit.

Other Planets

I realise the robotic exploration of the solar system is very difficult but where possible present and future planetary missions should focus on the night-time hemispheres of the planets as that is where they connect to the external circuit.

For example, such a study at Jupiter may very well reveal that the Great Red Spot is an electrical phenomenon associated with a deeper surface feature, the atmospheric bands in which the spot resides are the ‘cables’ connecting the spot to the external energy source in the distant Jovian magnetotail.

The premise assumes that Earth and other terrestrial type planets are essentially basaltic in nature and that the continents formed by an eruptive or transformative process. Central to this proposal is the popular understanding or misunderstanding of the nature of granite.

The problem with granite

Granite is not a singular rock but a term used “to identify an entire family of rocks which play certain complex roles in the architecture of the crust but which seem to elude the pigeonholes of formal nomenclature.” (1)

It has long been known that “granite is in effect defined by its geologic relations, yet no rock is perhaps so varied in its geology. The thread which unifies the varied occurrences of granite is this: With trivial exceptions, granite is closely associated in time and space to mountain building and regional metamorphism in the so called geosynclinal belts, where great thicknesses of sedimentary and volcanic rock accumulate”. (2)

Notice how granite is associated with large sedimentary and volcanic deposits, is this a clue as to granites true origin?

Granite is conventionally associated with the very cores of the continents which were once believed to be the eroded roots of ancient mountains but observations show “in many places metamorphic rocks of obvious sedimentary origin pass gradationally through migmatite into granite” not only that but the “trouble with migmatite is that it quite commonly looks like various arrested stages in processes by which pre-existing rocks, generally metamorphosed sandy and shaley sediments have been converted into granite.” (3)

It would seem that the plutonic status of granite is somewhat questionable rather granite is the result of in situ metamorphism of vast bodies of prior sedimentary rocks by a process known as ‘granitization’. Recently a Russian geologist has proposed a mechanism by which basalt is ‘granitized’ by water forming granite, it is quite possible that multiple eruptive or degassing processes are involved in the formation of granite. (4)

The Stratisphere

“Ronov described the sedimentary rock record as the ‘stratisphere’- the sedimentary and volcanic outer shell of the Earth’s crust, occupying some 11% of the crust by volume. Geologists estimate a range for this ‘stratisphere’, but many cite Ronov’s estimate of 1,100,000,000 km3…

“The sedimentary record is marked by several interesting discontinuities. The most obvious is the disproportionately high volume on the continents and continental margins. Together, they contain 82.8% of sedimentary rocks, even though they occupy less than 42% of the total surface area. Ronov estimated Earth’s total surface area to be 510,072,000 km2, with a little more than 29%, or 148,940,000 km2, as dry land. Of the 361,132,000 km2 under water, 12.7%, or 64,779,144 km2 comprised continental margins.

“After estimating the distribution of Earth’s sedimentary rocks, Ronov calculated the average thickness of the sedimentary shell in a variety of crustal settings. On continents, he estimated the average thickness to be 5 km. This decreased to 2.5 km on the continental margins, and 0.4 km on the sea floor. His averages include everything from exposed continental shields to deep basins like the Southern Caspian Basin, where the sedimentary column thickness reaches 25 km, and the western Gulf of Mexico, where it locally exceeds 16 km.” (5)

Although only a thin veneer sedimentary rocks, nevertheless, are strongly associated with the continents and in places 25 km deep! The abyssal plains of the ocean basins, places where we would expect to find substantial amounts of sediment and actively forming sedimentary rock, are puzzlingly sediment free.

We have previously seen that a product of the silane - oxygen reaction is silica- is it possible that the continents themselves formed from the outgassing of silicon dioxide and by the ‘continentization’ of the basaltic crust? Such a process as suggested here led to the formation of a global hemispheric dichotomy, an oceanic or Pacific hemisphere and a continental or Indo-Atlantic hemisphere. Recently Russian geologists have recognised the global hemispheric dichotomy and proposed a similar continent formation process. (6)

Earth’s ‘unique’ surface

The formation of the continents by the process of continentization of the basaltic crust naturally included the outgassing of water and other atmospheric constituents. The eruption and outgassing process eventually formed a hemispheric dichotomy, an oceanic or Pacific hemisphere and a continental or Indo-Atlantic hemisphere. Whilst Earth’s surface may have formed in an electrical environment that is no longer present is it possible that other examples of continentization exist in the solar system today?

Cytherean Silica Outgassing?

Venus would not normally be considered the place to look for continentization and outgassing given the planet’s hellish reputation but it may be that just such a process is occurring. Observations by the ESA’s Venus Express spacecraft of the Cytherean atmosphere over a six year period enabled scientists to probe not only the planet’s atmosphere but also the planet’s surface. “"Our results showed that all of these aspects – the winds, the water content, and the cloud composition – are somehow connected to the properties of Venus' surface itself," says Jean-Loup Bertaux of LATMOS (Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales) near Versailles, France…” (7)

The winds, the water content, the cloud composition are all somehow connected to the surface of Venus. The report continues: “Bertaux and colleagues studied Venus' cloud-tops in the infrared part of the spectrum, allowing them to pick up on the absorption of sunlight by water vapour and detect how much was present in each location at cloud-top level (70 km altitude).

“They found one particular area of cloud, near Venus' equator, to be hoarding more water vapour than its surroundings. This 'damp' region was located just above a 4500-metre-altitude mountain range named Aphrodite Terra. This phenomenon appears to be caused by water-rich air from the lower atmosphere being forced upwards above the Aphrodite Terra mountains, leading researchers to nickname this feature the 'fountain of Aphrodite'.

“"This 'fountain' was locked up within a swirl of clouds that were flowing downstream, moving from east to west across Venus," says co-author Wojciech Markiewicz of the Max-Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Göttingen, Germany.”Our first question was, 'Why?' Why is all this water locked up in this one spot?"

“In parallel, the scientists used Venus Express to observe the clouds in ultraviolet light, and to track their speeds. They found the clouds downstream of the 'fountain' to reflect less ultraviolet light than elsewhere, and the winds above the mountainous Aphrodite Terra region to be some 18 per cent slower than in surrounding regions”.

"We've known for decades that Venus' atmosphere contains a mysterious ultraviolet absorber, but we still don't know its identity," says Bertaux. "This finding helps us understand a bit more about it and its behaviour – for example, that it's produced beneath the cloud-tops, and that ultraviolet-dark material is forced upwards through Venus' cloud-tops by wind circulation." (8)

Aphrodite Terra is a ‘continent’ located in the equatorial regions of Venus. (9) Researchers assumed that the topography of the region simply forced “water-rich air” upwards. The rising air was assumed to dredge material up from below- no source of water was indicated.

Could it be that water is not being dredged from below but actively outgassing from the continentization process forming Aphrodite Terra? Furthermore, could the unidentified mysterious ultraviolet absorber, having its origin in the continentization process along with water, be fine grained particles of silicon dioxide?